Federal and Local Health Officials and Other Luminaries Envision the Future of Public Health at Upcoming NACCHO Annual Conference

Federal and Local Health Officials and Other Luminaries Envision the Future of Public Health at Upcoming NACCHO Annual Conference

Washington, DC (July 5, 2012)--

WHAT: Join local health officials and invited guests at the 2012 National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Annual Conference as they gather in Los Angeles, CA, to discuss the future of local public health. This year, the theme of the annual meeting is “Navigating the Currents: Positioning Local Health Departments for the Future,” which will provide an interactive setting for local health officials and their public health partners from around the country to examine strategies, share ideas, and plan actions necessary for public health leaders to create and build upon a forward-looking vision of local public health. In addition to sessions on local health department-community partnerships, eliminating health inequalities, public health accreditation, and funding the prevention of chronic disease, conference attendees will hear keynote addresses from federal, state, and local public health officials and other experts in the field.

The conference will also feature a screening of “The Interrupters,” the must-see documentary of 2011. Produced by Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz, the film chronicles the lives of three violence interrupters employed by CeaseFire Chicago—a program that has dramatically reduced shootings in eight Chicago neighborhoods using the public health principles of detection and intervention. The screening will be followed by a question and answer session with CeaseFire representatives.

WHO: Faith D’Aluisio, a former television news producer, is editor and lead writer for the award-winning Material World Books series, an imprint of Ten Speed Press/Crown Books/Random House. She and Peter Menzel received the James Beard Foundation Award in 1999 for Best Book: Reference and Writing on Food, for Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects. In 2005, the James Beard Foundation awarded their book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats Best Book of the Year and Best Book: Reference and Writing on Food.

Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, MBA, is the director of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the County Health Officer, responsible for all public health functions for the county’s 10 million residents. He is also vice-chair of the Los Angeles First 5 Commission, which grants over $100 million per year to improve the health and development of children 0-5. Dr. Fielding chairs the U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force and was a founding member of the U.S. Clinical Preventive Services Task Force. He also chairs the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2020. Dr. Fielding is a professor in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health at UCLA, and has authored over 175 peer reviewed publications, editorials and book chapters on public health, health policy, health economics, and evidence-based public health practice issues.

Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, became Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in June 2009. Dr. Frieden has worked to control both communicable and non-communicable diseases in the United States and around the world. As Commissioner of the New York City Health Department from 2002-2009, he directed one of the world?s largest public health agencies, with an annual budget of $1.7 billion and more than 6,000 staff. He received both his medical degree and master’s of public health degree from Columbia University and completed infectious disease training at Yale University. He has received numerous awards and honors and has published more than 200 scientific articles. (Dr. Frieden will give his presentation via videoconference.)

Marthe R. Gold, MD, MPH, is the Logan Professor and chair of the Department of Community Health and Social Medicine of the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education of the City College of New York. A graduate of the Tufts University School of Medicine and the Columbia School of Public Health, her clinical training is in family practice and she has practiced in urban and rural underserved settings. Dr. Gold directed the work of the Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine, an expert panel whose report remains an influential guide to cost-effectiveness methodology for academicians and policy makers in clinical and public health settings. Dr. Gold was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 2006 and has served on a number of its committees.
Peter Menzel is a photojournalist known for his coverage of international feature stories on science and the environment. His award-winning photographs have been published in Life, National Geographic, Smithsonian, the New York Times Magazine, Time, Stern, and GEO. He has received both World Press and Picture of the Year awards and has authored seven books, most recently, What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets, with Faith D’Aluisio. The book was awarded the Jane Grigson Award by the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

Judith A. Monroe, MD, FAAFP, is the Deputy Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Director of the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support. In this role, she provides critical leadership improving and supporting the public health system. Most recently, Dr. Monroe served as the Indiana State Health Commissioner. She has held several national public health leadership positions, is a past president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, and served as vice chair on the Board of Directors for the Public Health Accreditation Board. Dr. Monroe was also a member of the Indiana Health Information Exchange Board of Directors.

Stephen M. Teutsch, MD, MPH, became the Chief Science Officer of the Los Angeles County Public Health in February 2009 where he continues his work on evidence-based public health and policy. Prior to this role, Dr. Teutsch was in the Outcomes Research and Management program at Merck and Director of the Division of Prevention Research and Analytic Methods (DPRAM) at CDC. Dr. Teutsch chaired the Secretary''s Advisory Committee on Genetics Health and Society, and serves on IOM panels, Medicare’s Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee, and formerly on several subcommittees of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Healthy People 2020.

HOW: Members of the media may receive complimentary registration to attend the conference or select sessions. Click here for a preliminary schedule. For more information, or to set up an on-site interview with any of the above speakers, please contact Becky Wexler, Burness Communications, at (301) 652-1558 or bwexler@burnesscommunications.com.

In partnership with NACCHO, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will provide exclusive media and event coverage of NACCHO Annual at NewPublicHealth.org, the premier online destination for information and discussion about public health.

Media are also encouraged to follow sessions as they happen via Twitter @NACCHOalerts and #NA12.

About the National Association of County and City Health Officials
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation''s 2,800 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities.